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Europride

Proudly celebrating Amsterdam’s diversity

EuroPride appoints Amsterdam

Each year EuroPride, the momentous two week cultural
festival dedicated to stimulating and celebrating acceptance
of the LGBT community, appoints a different European city
as host. In 2016, Amsterdam earned the honour. Invited to
create a unique visual identity and campaign for the event,
VBAT’s challenge was immediate and clear: to position
Amsterdam as both the capital of Europe’s LGBT community

and as a longstanding and relentless champion of
individual freedom to love and be loved by whomever,
wherever. As an Amsterdam headquartered agency with a
longstanding relationship with the Amsterdam Gay Pride
Foundation, VBAT has long been a prominent proponent of
sexual diversity.

Central to our EuroPride 2016 identity, we reinterpreted
Amsterdam’s most iconic symbol – three Saint Andrew's
Crosses, taken from the city’s coat of arms. Traditionally
silver, we graphically rendered them into emblems of the

LGBT, European and Amsterdam communities. The identity
was instantly recognisable to Amsterdammers, but at the
same time open and playful enough to function as a symbol
of creativity, diversity and freedom.

Loveboats activation

One of the biggest highlights of EuroPride 2016 is the Canal
Parade – a carnival procession on Amsterdam’s historic
waterways. To give those unable to attend the opportunity
to participate we created an online brand activation called

LoveBoats. Within the mini-site visitors created their own
personalised LoveBoat which entered an online gallery or
virtual Canal Parade.

Loud and proud!

Working with city transport provider GVB we created
the EuroPride branded livery for 50 buses and one very
special tram. The visual identity was also applied to

‘We are so pleased with the EuroPride
identity,’ says Lucian Spee, CEO Amsterdam
Gay Pride. ‘It seems simple and obvious, but
that also makes it so brilliant. It contains
everything. In one glance, it communicates
exactly what the festival is all about. ’